Insights

Customer Success Stories

Casestudy

1 Introduction

This document details the requirements of CUSTOMER BU Division which manages several large contracts that run into hundreds of pages. BU is looking for ways and means to organize information and insights out of those large contract documents leveraging AI/ML technologies thereby achieve following objectives on Managing contracts, monitor project progress and complete the closure of projects.

  • Reduce the errors in Contract-lifecyle from initiation till closure
  • Reduce financial loss due to errors in managing the contracts
  • Save time/effort spent by their Engineers onreading and extracting relevant insights for decision making.

In this context, this document describes the requirements that CUSTOMER BU haswith respect to this initiative. Requirements have been elaboratedtopic by topic below.

AI/ML solution is required for following areas

  1. Contract intelligence during project initiation
  2. Performance Monitoring Intelligence
  3. Contract intelligence during project closure

2 Contract Intelligence & decision support during project initiation

2.1 Keywords extraction and tabulation report

Documents will be provided in the form of native PDF and scannedPDF and the solution mustbe able to read those large documents and create a data table.

The data table must be tabulated based on key words. A few sample keywords are listed below:

  • Liquidated Damages
  • Extension of Time
  • Employer’s Claim
  • Contractor’s Claim
  • Timeline for Contractor’s Claims And so on.

The solution must be able to read through those contract documents and provide extractedcontent in the form of a CSV [Comma Separate Values]/Excel file containing following headers:

  1. Document Name
  2. Clause Number in which the keyword was found.
  3. Summary of the clause where the keyword was found.
  4. Page number where the keyword was found.
  5. Total number of keyword hits in the document
  6. An extract of the whole clause where the keyword was found.

The solution must have facility or feature for an end user to enter the keywords they are looking for in aspecific contract document. And based on user defined keywords system should extract and tabulate the reports.

2.2 Critical Set of Clauses

The solution must be able to read through large contract documents and highlight critical setof clauses. A few sample critical set of clauses are:

  • Law and Language
  • Right of Access to Site
  • Engineer’s Duties and Authority
  • Contractor’s Performance Security
  • Contractor’s Design Documents And so on.

The solution must be able to read through those contract documents and provide extracted content in the form of a CSV [Comma Separate Values]/Excel file containing following headers:

  1. Clause Number
  2. Page number where the clause was found.

The solution must have room for an end user to enter the clauses they are looking for in aspecific contract document.

2.3 Comparison

There are generic guidelines offered with respect to contracts on standard documents like FIDIC, JCT, CPWD, JICA, etc., the solution must be able to read through the specific contract documents and compare the clauses against these standard documents. The output again canbea CSV/Excel file that tabulates the following:

  1. Clause number that is required on the specific contract as per the standard documentand that is found missing.
  2. Clause number[s] that are present in the specific contract document as per the requirement defined in the standard document.

The solution must have room for uploading a standard document which has to be used as a reference for a specific contract document such that comparison can be made.

2.4 Identify Inconsistencies

Quite a few times, it occurs that a specific contract document will have clause numbers mentioned that are not defined within the document. It is important for CUSTOMER BU to identify such misrepresented clauses or missing clauses. In this regard, the solution must be able to go through the contract documents completely and identify clauses/sections that are referred wrongly. Output can be in the form of a CSV/Excel containing following headers:

  1. Clause/section number that has been referred.
  2. Page number in which the clause/section was referred.
  3. Whether the clause/section was missing as a whole or only a sub-section/sub-clausehas been missing
  4. Number of such wrong references

2.5 Unsigned/Unsealed and Missing Pages Information

Since these are contract documents, every page must be signed and sealed by all relevant stakeholders. Also, there must not be any missing pages. So, the solution must be able to determine which pages have not been signed/sealed (even if any of the parties has not signed/sealed that must be ascertained) and pages that are missing based on page numbers mentioned in the document. Output can be a CSV/Excel containing following headers:

  1. Page number where a seal/sign was missing.
  2. Page number that was found missing.
  3. Number of pages where seal/sign was missing.
  4. Number of pages that were missing.

2.6 Chat Bot

CUSTOMER BU requires a chat bot layer on top of these reports such that an end user can query using natural language on the topics listed above. Chat bot must be able to investigatethe immediate document that is referred and any other documents that can be clubbed withthe immediate document. So, the solution must have room for an end user to select a set of documents/reports on which their queries need to be applied.

3 Contract Performance Monitoring Intelligence / decision support

3.1 Creating Contractual Key Event Dates & Triggers

As per contract conditions / clauses for any given project (examples – issue of GFC drawings,land handover documents, ROW access, Form V document issue). Trigger event mails / notifications well in advance with reminders to defined stakeholders.

Solution must be able to understand various schedules and trigger points from contract documents and send out notification emails on schedule nearing closure and send periodic reminders.

3.2 Integrate with MSP & Primavera

Solution must be able to integrate with MS Project or Primavera (not directly but using Excelsheet upload on the User Interface) thereby match the proposed project schedule with actualproject schedule. On matching, send out trigger emails to stakeholders on upcoming deliverables (deliverables by employer / contractor / interface works)

3.3 Integrate with Document Management System (DMS)

Solution must be able to fetch documents from DMS via integration and read through them to identify criticality / priority of the communication / correspondence and sort it automatically (General, Critical and Actionable categories for example).

3.4 Chat Bot

Like requirement 2.6 above. In addition, the expectation is that the chat bot must also be able to be a meeting management system like initiate meetings, record MoMs, transcript the meetings.

3.5 Delay / Variations Management

This is a subset of 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 above. Chronological organization of schedules and associated documents is required. Variations and delays are the focus here.

3.6 Integration with EIP

EIP is CUSTOMER BU’s ERP. Currently this requirement is not to be considered in scope.

4 Contract Closure / Project Documentation

Like 2.6 and 3.4 above. However, focus should remain on contract closure related documents,articles, and operating procedures.